Although strong, the figures are hurt by the increasing strength of the Taiwanese dollar against other world currencies, particularly the US dollar. With Taiwanese currencies strong, sales denominated in other currencies are less valuable in TWD, discouraging exports and putting results off what they could have been. That results are strong despite this is excellent news for TSMC.

The foundry giant manufactures for many prominent firms, including NVIDIA, AMD's ATI Graphics division, VIA, and LSI. The total volume of silicon sold to these partners increased significantly, more than offsetting lower prices. TSMC also managed to lower costs significantly.

Results showed strong adoption of TSMC's advanced process technology. Of silicon revenue, 63 percent came from processes at the 130nm mode and below. With the lion's share of this sitting at and below 90nm, TSMC must be very pleased with adoption and optimistic for the 40nm half-node scale-up. The company predicts a strong third quarter, echoing comments we've heard from both Intel and Jon Peddie Research.